Casting attachment for open-hearth steel-melting furnaces



Y(No Model.) 3 Sheetswheet .-0. M.. RY-DER. I `GASIING ATTAGHMENT FOR OPEN HEARTH STEEL MELTING ERNAGES. No. 277,850. iPatenteaimay15,1883.

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l l I I (No Model.) W, l 3 Sheets-Sheet 3. Y U. M. RYDER.

GASTING ATTACHMENT FOR UPEN HEARTH'ST'EELMELTING FURIMJUES. No, 273,850.. y -Patentell May Mi, 18S-3u A Homey;

NrTED 'STATES PATENT eric.

CHARLES M. RYDER, OF CHESTER, PENNSYLVANIA.

CASTlNG ATTACHMENT FOR OPEN-HEARTH STEEL-MELTING FURNACES.

SPEGIFIGATI'ONforming part of Letters Patent No'. 277,850, dated May 15, 1883.

' Application fneanecemwr '1, issn. (Nummer.)

To all whom it may concern Be it knownthat I, CHARLES M. RYDER, of Chester, in the county of Delaware and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful ImprovementsA in Open Hearth Steel-Melting Furnaces; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description ot' the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

Heretofore all operations E casting have been seriously embarrassed by the rapid cooling of the metalafter it is tapped into the ladle. For this reason large castings occupying considerable time in pouring lack homogeneity of crystallization, while the operation of casting a number of small; pieces from a common .-.mass-,ef-metal involves the'erpenditnro of so much time that a portion of the metal cools before i-t can be poured. The above is especially'ftrue of all operations of casting structural steel, which cools rapidly and acquires a spon gy texture, being in `this respect similar to wrought-iron.

The object of my invention is to overcome means for sustaining the heat-of the metal, after it has been tapped into' the ladle, at any desired temperature and for any desired time. A further object of the invention is to provide effectual and convenient means for heating the ladle before the mctal of the bath is tapped..

into it.. With these objects in view my invention consists in the combination, with -a ladle, of ilues for conveying gas and air blasts thereinto, and

a iiue for the escape of the-waste products ot combustion therefrom.

My invention further consists in the combination, with an open-hearth steel-melting or regenerative furnace vand a ladle, of ues con necting the gasand airues of the furnace with the ladle, and means for 'deflectin g aportion or the Whole of the gas and air 'blasts oi' the furnace to the ladle, and for regulating the' draft through the same.

`My invention further consists in certain details of construction and combinations of parts. as will behereinafter described, and pointed ont in the claims.

' inl the 'accompanying drawings',,liigurel is a yview in vertical transverse section ,of furl` nace and ladle embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a View in elevationofthe pit side thereof, the ladle being represented in broken lines. Fig. 3 is a view in front elevation of the ladle, the structure surmouuting it being shown iu section. Fig. 4 is a plan view ot' the ladlecover, the surmo'untin g structure being broken away; and Fig. 5 is a view in transverse section through line a: y of Fig. 1.

A is the melting-chamber of an open-hearth steel-meltingor regeuerativefurnace. Two gastlucs, B, and two air-dues, G, terminate in each end of themelting-chamber aforesaid, the airiiucs bein g respectively located above the gasflues, according to the arrangement now generally adopted in this class of furnaces. The dues toopposteendsof the melting-chamberrespectively terminate in suitable regenerative chamibers, D and E, apair of the same being lo- Acated at -each end of thefurnace. The chanibers D of the said pairs are respectively provided with iiues E, which intersect each other and the chimney-fino I through a chamber, El, d leading into the same, gas u nder pressure be- .ing introduced into the said chamber 'H from the box I of the gas-conduit J A regulator, K', located in the box I aforesaid, determines the quantity of gas admitted 'to the furnace in any given time. The oscillation of the gasblast from one side ofthe furnace tothe other is controlled by the reversing-valve H', located in the chamber H, and arranged to deflect the blast through the fine of either of the chambersD. The above-described arrangement for reversing the gas-,blasts is shown in Fig. 5 ot' the dra-wings. The chambers E ot' the said pairs ot' regenerative' chambers are respectively provided with iu'es G, which intersect each other and the chimney-flue I through a chamber leading into the same, and provided with an aperture i'or the admission ot' air, and with a'reversirig-valve, the arrangement of the several parts'being` substantially'the same as described and shown in Fig. 5, and not havtheirillustratin.' `The ladle J, which is mounted-upon a column or istarnlardrIK, during the -operation of casting, is furnished with a rerial. and surmoiinted by a structure, M, em- ,'bndying-tyvojgas-ues, hl, the same number of thus arranged to introduce gas and air blastsin- Y ing for this reason especial figure devoted. to.

IOO

A iected t-hereinto,

. withan aperture, A',

- an orice, C',

the orifice C and arranged to control air-lines G, and a due, P, in which all of the said lines terminate, and which communicates with the ladle.I` The outer ends of the said iiuesll and 0 are arranged to coincide, respect ively, with the terminals of the auxiliary tlues Q and R, embodied in the refractory structure S, supported by a bracket, T, projecting 'fromthe pit side of the furnace. rllhese auxiliary. iiues intersect the gas and air ues B and C at points without their intersection-with the melting-chamberA. 'A due, U, terminating in the escape or chimneyue I, and communicating with the ladle through an oritice,V,

formed in the cover L thereof, is. designed lto convey the waste products of combustion from the'ladle when the as will be hereinafter de- A. damper, X, locatedin the ilne\`1 the draft through the ilue U, is employed in connection with 'a damper, X', also located in'the flue I, in 'the deflection of the'gas and air blasts through theladle, this being eiected by opening the'damper'X damper .The metal of the batl is introducedinto he-ladle through an aperture, Y, formedj'in its cover scribed.

'and registering with the spout Z of tho'fur-ff.-

nace. rlhe cover of the ladle `is* alsof-'provided for the .introduction ofl the stopper B', the lower endof which lits in formed in the bottom'of thcladle. is manipulated to' open or .close by means of a system of levers, arranged as'shown in the drawingsI or inv any equivalent-manner. The metal'is conveyed The stopper from the ladle to the molds by means of ai spout, D', pivotedto a short bar, E', jonrn'aledin lugs F', .depending from the ladle, .By mounting the spout in this manner it is rendered laterally and vertically adjustable, en` abling it to be handled to thebest-advantageY in lilling the molds. When a numberof s mall pieces are being cast a turn-table, G', will fricilitate the operation by reducing the necessary handling ofthe molds.

Having detailed the construction of my improvement, I will now proceed to. describe its operation.

The charge in the melting-chamber of the furnace is first subjected to the action of the gas and air blasts, which are reversedf-throu h the furnace and regenerative chambersinit e usual manner. When the testsdeclare .that the metal has 'been-reduced to thcdesired co 'nf dition forcasting, the damper X is openedgand the damper X"1 partially closed, with the-effect of creating a strong draft throughjtlie line U, the ladle"L,--the dues P, I; and (lof the structure M. and the auxiliary fines (g and R, which, as before described, respectively intersect the gas and air-fines B and C ofthe furnace, and as the draftthus created is stronger than the normal draft of the furnace, which is throughv the gas and airlines of the regenerative chambers being heated, a great portion or all of the gas and air blasts will be deflected through the -auxiliary fines and into the ladle.- -When gas and air blasts are de 'the ladle.k throughr its the samehas been sutl'ciently heated. the fur. haceis Vtapped and .the metal drawn into it and sustained atgthe desired temperature for any desired time bythe combustion therein of.

the'gas and. air blasts, which are still continuedthrough it, being regulated in quantity by the regulators', ,whieh'ncontrol the lproportio-ns in which 1the I nace. 'As inthe-operation of the furnace the gas and air blastslare reversedj through the vladle and' the regenerative-chambers by ma' nipulatin'g the" versn g valves in the usual manner for. 'reversing-,the lilas/ts '.throngh the furnace. In virtuev ot this arrangement the whole mass of-lniet'alin thel ladle may be maintained' at a uniform temperature throughont the entire operation of, casting, whereby. 'homogeneity of crystallization is attained in large pieces which require in pour-ing, vand wherebylthe ;.fabrication of small articles of structuralsteel is placed on' je practical footing,- rture of al-arge charge of metal .can besas-.9 `tained until itis entirelypoured.r 0n"the other inasmuch as thetempera hand,without provision fonsustainngthe temperature of the metal after its withdrawal'into theladle, it has been impossible toinsure homogeneity of crystallization in'large castings and t'cast any considerable-number of small pieces froxnjasing'lecharge ot'- metal., /l

Itjisthus apparent' that theimprovenients herein described merlian important advance in 'the art offcastingwstructnral steel, and that they may be embodied-in any of the approved -forms 'of open-hearth'V steel-melting" or regen ferative' furnaces 1 The 'deiectiou et the''gas and air blasts into the ladle prior tota economical method lot preparing .it for the lre.

vcaption of thel metal, being milch su eriorto any of the old methods for accomplishing the Insteadfof relyin "alone fon the draft o'o air blasts through-theladle,thesaid blasts may be entirely excluded from dampers'L, located 'inutile-.furnace-flnes `at points above those "atwhichthey are' inter-- sected by the auxiliaryiiuesleadingtoth-clad!e;`

Itis design'cdto'maintain. the metal inthe ladle below its'boiling temperature i,nasngachas'zwhcn ebullition .and the .evolut on takes place the character of theY metal changes.

considerable time Prine' 'the furnace affords a rapid, convenient, and

blasts are commingled in the fur- 75 log IXO

tained through the ues leading from the ladle to the chimney for the dellection' of the gas and the melting-chamber of the furnace,for the time being, by means oi'- r 15 'of gais Shouldthis` occur,howver, s'mallquantities i of spiegeleisen or other materiahlasmay be required, can. be successively introduced into veast until the mass-of metal is restored to its original condition. So, too; if it is required tof 12S- cover and test ingots The ladle maybe adapted to have additional material introduced into it and tests taken by means of an orifice formed in the cover, or it may be revolved on its support to bring the aperture registering with the spout of the furnace in convenient position to be utilized for the purpose. i

The escape-flue of the ladle may be arranged to lead to an independent chimney, and, if found desirable, gas and air derived from other sources and conveyed to the ladle through other Afines may be employed instead of the gas and air blasts of the furnace.. The utili# zation of the furnace-blasts -in the manner shown is, however, probably the most simple and economical which can be adopted.

In view of the alterations involved in the fmodiications and adaptations suggested of the other changes which may be incurred in applying the improvement to different styles of furnaces, and also of the'changes which .Y must often be made to meet the requirements resulting from the oscillation of the ordinary' practicaly conditions, I wouldl have it understood that Ido not limit myself to the construction and arrangement of parts herein shown and described, but hold myself at liberty to make such changes and alterations as fairly fall. within the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having fully .described my invention, ivhat I claim 'as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is ,v `rifinita-combination, with 'the ,ladle of a furnace, of uesfor conveying gas and air blasts thereinto, and a flue for the escape of the waste products of combustion therefrom, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with the ladle of a furnace, of fines for conveying gas and air blasts thereinto, and a flue for the escape of the Wastel Aproducts of combustion therefrom, and means 'for controlling the` draft through the ladle and for regulating the blasts deflected into it, suby stantially as set forth. 4

3. The combination, with an open-hearth steel-melting or regenerative furnace and a ladle, of fines connecting the gas and air ues of the furnace with the ladle, and means for deflecting-the whole or a portion of the gas and air blasts of the furnace to the ladle, and for regulating vthe draft through the same, substantially asset forth.

4. rlhe combination, with' an open-hearth steel-melting or regenerative furnace and a la-V die, of auxiliary fiues'embodied in the furnace 'and intersecting its gas and air fines, tlues supportedby the ladle and coinciding with thesaid auxiliary iues, and means for deecting the whole or a portion of the blast of the furnace through the ladlefand for. controlling the draft of the same, substantially as set forth. 5. The combination, with an open -ehearth steel-melting or regenerative furnace provid` ed with auxiliary nues intersecting its gas and air flues,"ot a ladle and a removable oo ver therefor, said cover being provided with iiues coinciding with the said auxiliary iiues and with an aperture registering with the spout`of the furnace, substantially'as set forth.l

In testimony 'whereofI havesigued thisspeli. cation inthe presence of twosnbscribing witnesses.

v Cuantas M. nYDER.

V Witnesses: l

GEO. D. SEYMOUR, F. O. MCCLEARY. 

